Sliver of Hope

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Elephant Fitted With a Prosthetic Foot So He's Able to Walk Again - LOOK

When one is dealing with elephants, everything becomes a bit bigger, a bit more extreme—such as in this video when CPR is delivered via two veterinarians jumping up and down on the animal’s ribs like a moon bounce.

Similarly, Chhouk, an 11-year-old Asian elephant living at the Wildlife Alliance conservation organization in Cambodia, walks with a 44-pound prosthetic foot made out of recycled car tires and tow truck strapping.

Chhouk’s foot had to be amputated after it was caught in a poacher’s snare, but thanks to some $1,450 in funding every year from the Paradise Wildlife Park in the UK, the multi-ton animal gets a new prosthetic every 6-months, allowing him to walk, swim, and even run without difficulty.

“The level of care that he gets is brilliant and he has a great life now. There’s no better feeling,” said 27-year-old Cam Whitnall from England who runs the Paradise Wildlife Park and Big Cat Sanctuary with his family.

“Because he’s still growing, it needs replacing often and we’ve been sending payments to cover that. They’re made out of recycled rubber and some Velcro to tie it up,” he said. “They weigh about 20kg (44 pounds) and we actually got them to send one over and it’s sitting in my office currently.”

There's something about those who have a heart for helping our animal friends that makes me feel good.

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I like this story. From some of the worst possible beginnings, having member of the community rally around and help her as she grew up and now on to an Ivy League education. Our circumstances don't define us.

'I Was Born In Prison': Texas Girl Born In Jail Gets Accepted To Harvard

A young Texas woman, whose life began behind bars, has been accepted into the prestigious Harvard University after graduating third in her class.

18-year-old Aurora Sky Castner was born in the Galveston County Jail. Her father picked her up from the county jail and raised her as a single dad. Her mother was incarcerated at the time and has never been a part of her life.

"I was born in prison," reads the first line of her Harvard application letter.

Castner credits her mentor Mona Hamby for her success. Castner and Hamby met when she was in elementary school. The school staff introduced her to a community mentorship program where adult volunteers grab lunch with young students at least once a week.

"I was given a paper about her. Her hero was Rosa Parks, her favorite food was tacos from Dairy Queen and she loved to read. I thought this sounds like a bright little girl," Hamby told the Houston Chronicle. "I still have that paper today."

"She told me 'I've been to jail'. I said 'No, that can't be right.' I knew that I can't just go eat lunch with this kid once a week, she needed more."

Hamby became a major part of Castner's life since that day. She took her to get her first haircut at a salon, helped her get glasses and was there when she toured Harvard's campus.

Castner not only succeeded in getting accepted into Harvard - but she will also be attending the prestigious Ivy League school on a full scholarship.

Go get that law degree kid.

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Eighth Grader's Act of Kindness Touches The Heart Of An Elderly Woman

In a world where acts of kindness often go unnoticed, a remarkable story has emerged that reminds us of the power of compassion and the impact it can have on someone's life.

It all started with a "Kindness Week Challenge" given to Brennan Gould by his 8th grade teacher, Ms. Watkins. Little did he know that this challenge would lead to a wonderful friendship with 84-year-old Ms. Ann.

Brennan's commitment to sending her little goodies every day for a week blossomed into a habit of checking up on her and delivering gifts regularly, long after the challenge was over.

Their friendship has now lasted for over five years, and Brennan still visits Ms. Ann every month with flowers, smoothies, chocolates and more.

They talk about everything from his high school life to his college goals - the pair has found that they share a mutual love of chocolate. Ms. Ann is always eager to hear about what he's doing and loves to share her own stories from a different time. They have become the best of friends, with Brennan treating her like an adopted great-grandmother.

There's a news story at the bottom of the article.

I remember in middle school having elderly pen-pals from somewhere. I don't remember if they were nearby or not, but I want to say they were in Andover maybe. It really was fun writing to and reading his response and thoughts. I do remember we talked a bit about hockey as I was really into the NHL at that time and he was unfortunately a Blackhawks fan. I always regretted that it ended and kind of wish that maybe I'd written to him more beyond just that semester at school. I thought about him over the years and wonder what happened with him.

So props to this kid for keeping it going for five years. Getting a perspective of a different time and place can be of value, and those who have lived life will often have different eyes in which to see things. It can be good to have that and sometimes it's just fun to hear what they have to say. Heck, it's a little different, but I remember as a wee little lad how much I loved sitting around my mom and her family (much older than I) and just being mesmerized with the stories they had and the people they talked about. That never faded as I got older. I still enjoy listening to her and others talk about life growing up and the different things they did or didn't have or did or didn't do.

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13 Years After Losing Both Legs in Afghanistan, Veteran Summits Everest Establishing World Record

A Nepali veteran of the British operations in Afghanistan has become the first double above-the-knee amputee to summit the world’s tallest mountain.

Hari Budha Magar, who lives in Canterbury reached the top at 3 PM last Friday, having started the climb on April 17th—13 years to the day since he lost his legs in an IED explosion.

Anyone with knowledge of the history of warfare knows about the almost mythical bravery and exceptionalism of the Ghurkas. Hari is one of these people—Ghurka being a historical term for a Nepali warrior, and a modern legal term for a Nepali foreign fighter that isn’t considered a mercenary under the Geneva Convention.

In the face of that legacy, Hari’s accomplishment is perhaps to be expected, though he certainly didn’t feel like that 13 years ago, battling alcoholism and depression.

“I grew up in Nepal, up to age of 19, and I saw how the disabled people were treated in those remote villages,” he said. “Many people still think that disability is a sin of previous life and you are the burden of the earth. I believed this myself because that is what I saw. That is how I grew up.”

He tried to kill himself a pair of times, but eventually decided to climb Everest instead. However, there was a legal summit to conquer in his native Nepal before he could tackle the Mountain So High No Bird Can Fly Over It.

Quite the feat, and just another example that shows we put our own roadblocks up and limit ourselves more than our actual circumstances do more often than not.

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Homeless Man Hailed as Hero for Rescuing Family from Apartment Fire: 'He was an angel'

A mother in Arizona woke to find she was trapped in the second story of her apartment home as it quickly engulfed in flames.

Claudia Jimenez opened the window and called out to anyone who could hear, needing somehow to find a way to escape while the front door was blocked by the fire.

The first person on the scene wasn’t a firefighter, it was Joe Hollins, who lived in a homeless encampment with his wife near Jimenez’s house.

“All I see is a lady pull open the window and she’s screaming ‘Please help me, please help me,'” Hollins told CBS News.

The mother of two then had to make a difficult choice. It’s not unusual or prejudicial to be wary of people living on the streets, but for her one-year-old daughter Valerie and eight-year-old Natalie, Hollins may have been their only hope of survival.

Under the window, Hollins called to Jimenez saying that he would catch the children in his arms. She trusted the man, and not only dropped Valerie and Natalie, but the two dogs as well. It took Jimenez herself a while to summon the courage to jump, but she managed it, and Hollins still had the strength to catch her.

As things calmed down, the family thanked Hollins profusely, though the man said that he did what anyone would do in that situation.

“Yes, anyone would. Those were children,” he said.

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This one made me smile. I never had a deep connection with any of my grandparents.

Grandson Accompanies His 93-year-old Grandma to Visit All 63 National Parks: 'Greatest privilege of my life'

If you asked any American what they’d like to do after they retire—and you offered them the chance to go on a road trip to see all 63 national parks—most might consider that a great way to sail into the sunset.

Well more than just saying it, a 93-year-old grandmother has done it—all 63 parks in about 8 years time, becoming the oldest person ever to do so.

But, Joy Ryan didn’t do it herself. She had a handsome young man—her grandson Brad—for company, who described the adventure as “the greatest privilege.” Their journey began in October of 2015 when they visited Great Smokey Mountains National Park in Tennessee and concluded last Monday when they made it all the way out into the South Pacific to American Samoa.

“We departed from our hometown of Duncan Falls, Ohio at 3:00 am on Saturday,” Brad Ryan told Good Morning America via email.

“We took a two-day break in Oahu before boarding our final flight to Pago Pago, American Samoa, on Monday. Three flights and nearly seventeen flying hours were required before we touched down in American Samoa on Monday evening.”

Throughout the recent parks, Brad and Joy have been documenting their trips on the @grandmajoysroadtrip Instagram account.

“Grandma Joy has taught the world that you are never too old to show up and live the adventurous life of your dreams. It has been the greatest privilege of my life to be in the driver’s seat as Grandma Joy made history to become the oldest person to achieve this historic feat.”

Now they're starting a quest for her to touch all seven continents.

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I'm pretty sure I shared the original story on here back in December/January. Here's a cool follow up to it.

American Couple Who Sheltered Korean Tourists In Blizzard Visit Korea

Last Christmas, we shared a story about a New York City couple who provided shelter to a group of Korean tourists during a snowstorm.

The couple has reunited with their guests in Seoul for a 10-day tour of South Korea.

On Dec. 23, 2022, a bus carrying 10 Korean tourists got stuck in the snow near Buffalo, New York. Two men in the group decided to knock on the door of a nearby home to ask for shovels to dig the bus out and keep moving.

Instead, they were invited into Alexander and Andrea Campagna's home until the blizzard passed.

Fast forward to May 2023, the Campagnas are now on a 10-day tour of South Korea. The couple arrived on Saturday at the invitation of the Korea Tourism Organization.

They have also reunited with their guests from that unforgettable Christmas.

I'm sure you develop a bit of a bond during that event. It's cool they they were invited over to reunite and get to experience Korea. South Korea is a country I would love to visit some day.

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Good people helping good people.

Neighbor Offers Helping Hand To Struggling Mom After Her Husband Leaves

A neighbor showed a struggling mother that love and kindness still exist.

Mallory Mason lives in Canton, Ohio, with her children. Her husband recently left her and the kids.

Her new neighbor, John, noticed they were struggling and worked up the courage to knock on her door and offer to help.

"I'd like to come down and cut your grass for you," he says in the video (below).

Mallory thanks John and notices he has tears in his eyes, too.

"Are you okay?" she asks him.

"Nope," he replies.

Mallory posted the security camera video of her conversation with John to TikTok where it has garnered more than 1 million views.

"This MAN broke my heart as he looked at me! He has tear filled eyes and I myself couldn't help but cry! He blessed us by mowing this b**ch of a lawn. I can't thank him enough! I ran in and made cookies and Paxton painted him a picture. It's so nice that people actually care instead of just talking about the storm we are living in. My heart is full. We have so many kind people around us, it makes it a little easier to get through," she captioned the video.

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I like this.

Canadian Family Turns Old School into Hydroponic Farm Growing Fresh Veggies Even in Winter For the Whole Town

A rural Saskatchewan winter is nothing to take lightly, and if there’s any farming to be done it better be in a greenhouse.

Or does it? It turns out that an old schoolhouse will do just fine for one farming couple, who provide fresh veggies to the whole town.

In Hudson Bay, June and Jan Nel run a hydroponic farm equipped with a drive-through window where they grow and distribute romaine, butter, baby romaine, red romaine, green oakleaf, red oakleaf, muir, and batavia lettuces, as well as kale, dill, basil, cucumbers, arugula, swiss chard, tomatoes, radishes, and parsley.

They do it in the old community school in the town of 1,504 after immigrating there from South Africa.

After arriving, the derelict schoolhouse next to their home was open for alternate-use plans, which is when Jan got the idea to start a hydroponics business. He made the pitch to the town and got approved to move in.

“I think when my husband first said ‘let’s grow lettuce inside an old school building,’ I did not really think that it would become what it has,” said June, who runs Let-Us Grow Hydroponics alongside Jan.

“I didn’t really realize how the community would love it and embrace it, and how much I would enjoy doing it.”

I'm not the biggest veggie guy, but I understand their importance. And being so far from distribution centers I can see why this is such a big hit in their community. It sounds like they plan to start using more of the old school to grow more items as well.

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Reunited after nearly 30 years. Love to see it.

MIRACLE MONDAY: Homeless For 28 Years, Linda is Offered Miracle Reunion With Her Family and Moves Back Home

Just in time for Mother’s Day, this week’s Miracle Monday column showcases a heartwarming family reunion for a woman who had been living on the streets for 28 years, and finally got the chance to return home to Wisconsin.

“We waited 28 years. Every year, every day, every hour, just wondering where she was and if we were ever going to find her—afraid of that phone call that something happened to her and no one knew who her family was,” said Angie, Linda’s younger sister, when they all gathered at the backyard picnic table. Her life was about to change when Linda met Gabby, who worked for Miracle Messages in South Florida.

Gabby had spoken with her several times before, but on a Tuesday night in January, Linda finally decided to share one of her dreams: although she felt scared and apprehensive of what might happen, she would like to try to reconnect with her mother and children.

“Gabby sat with me on the ground that night, and it was cold. She took down my information. I will never forget that,” Linda recalled.

“Gabby. I love you. You are going to be part of this family forever.”

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I've seen a story like this a few years ago, but it always makes me smile. Again, most people in this world are good and want to do good.

A Mom Posted to Find Friends for 24-yo Son with Down Syndrome - the Flood of Support Shocked Her

Christian Bowers has Down Syndrome, but likes to do normal guy stuff like go bowling and play video games.

Making friends was never hard for the young man, now 24, until he finished school and found, as many people without Down Syndrome do for that matter, it’s not as easy and straightforward to maintain a social life.

Bowers’ mother, Donna Herter, watched her son sink further and further into the dumps because he didn’t have any friends to visit him.

Eventually, Herter put up a post on Facebook asking if any local guys near Rochester, Minnesota, would be interested in coming to hang out with Christian for two hours, a service for which she was willing to offer $80,00 in compensation.

A nurse on the night shift, she put the post up at 4:00 AM before ending her workday and going to sleep. When she woke up, it had amassed 5,000 comments.

“I was freaking out. My hands were shaking, I was sweating. I was just looking for some local guys, I didn’t want to invite like the entire world into our house,” she told CBS News.

Her friends encouraged her to calm down and take a closer look at the comments, in which she found parents offering suggestions and others volunteering to help.

The positive impact these people are having on this young man is special.

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'It Makes Them Feel Good About Themselves': Kansas Man Mows Lawns For Free

A man in Kansas is using his lawnmowing business to do some good in the community.

When he sees a lawn in bad shape, he knocks on the homeowner's door and offers to take care of the lawn for free.

Spencer has owned a lawn care company in Wichita, KS, for 11 years now. His team maintains about 40 properties per week.

About a year-and-a-half ago, Spencer saw a few videos of lawn care professionals mowing lawns for free.

"That's pretty cool, I thought — maybe I can start a YouTube channel and do this once a week," he said.

He began knocking on the doors of homes whose yards were in desperate need of lawn care and filming the work using a camera on a tripod.

Today, SB Mowing has over 1 million followers on YouTube.

In one video, he knocks on the door of Mark Edens, a veteran who served 9 years in the army.

"I got thousands of comments from people saying, 'hey, how can we donate to this man? We'd love to help a veteran out'," Spencer said.

After finishing his lawn, Spencer returned to surprise Mark with $10,000 in cash.

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Video shows moment baby in stroller rolling toward traffic is saved by good Samaritan

https://www.foxnews.com/us/video-sho...good-samaritan

Nessman had been at a job interview at a nearby Applebee's restaurant and was in the right place at the right time. His sister was sitting at a nearby patio.
Ron Nessman stops the stroller just in time. (Donna Gunderson/Local News X/TMX )

He has been living with his sister for the past three months after being homeless for about eight years, in part due to depression after the death of his girlfriend.
Ron Nessman hugs the baby's great aunt after another man helps her to her feet. (Credit: Donna Gunderson/Local News X/TMX )

"I decided to get right. If you want something different in your life, you do something different and that's where I am at today. I thank my sister for helping me out. She's always been there for me," Nessman said, noting that he's hoping an employer would see the story and give him an opportunity.

Gunderson told NBC Los Angeles that the video should be a lesson to anyone who uses a stroller: Don't forget to lock the wheels on hills or on windy days.

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105-Year-Old WWII Veteran With No Surviving Relatives Receives 3,000 Birthday Cards

A World War II veteran with no surviving relatives celebrated his 105th birthday with more than 3,000 cards from kind-hearted strangers.

Ernest Horsfall, who has seen 27 Prime Ministers and five British monarchs in his lifetime, said he was ‘surprised and amazed’ at how many people wrote to him.

He was showered with cards from generous well-wishers after the Royal British Legion called for the brave ex-servicemen to be honored for his landmark birthday.

After opening all his cards, he said he was looking forward to spending time with his girlfriend Margaret, 63, who flew in from Iceland to be with him on his special day.

“I’m utterly surprised and amazed at the number of greeting cards that came my way,” he said from a seat in his home in Preston.

Ernest was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, in 1918, three weeks after the Royal Air Force was formed.

He was married for 57 years and had a son and a sister, but they have both now passed away.

Ernest served in London during the Blitz before joining the Allied campaign in North Africa, then went to Italy to maintain Allied tanks, directing 23 Italian civilian mechanics.

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Great-Grandma Gets 90th Birthday Wish to Ride a Harley Again, Courtesy of a Biker Gang

A great-grandmother who is mad for motorcycles was granted her birthday wish to ride on the back of a Harley-Davidson – a call-back to her youth while celebrating turning 90.

Fearless Brit Barbara Morris said she “felt 21 again” during her spin around town on the powerful American cruising bike.

She mentioned to her family several years ago that if she made it to 90, she’d like to get back in the saddle one last time.

She was left stunned when her sons arrived recently at her nursing home with members of a local biker group. Though wearing a dress, she had no concerns about straddling the bike right there on the spot, before taking a trip with 13 other riders to a pub.

“I just felt the years melt away,” said the great-grandmother of six. “It was just an incredible experience to feel the wind blowing in my face again.”

Barbara got her first motorcycle license as a teen in the 1950s. She’s pictured below with her best friend Mac.

Wish that they didn't use 'Gang' in the title, but this story, and the pictures that go with it, make me feel good.

Those who have rode bikes get it. There's something about being on a bike that is hard to describe to those that haven't been on them. I'm not sure when she was last on one, but this was definitely a special day and you can see it on her face in some of the pics.